THE future of a sports hall in Bromsgrove has again fallen into doubt, as plans to share with a nearby school have been put on hold - days before the new leisure centre's launch.

Bromsgrove Sports and Leisure Centre is set to open to customers for the first time in School Drive on Monday morning - two years after it was given the green light, with £13.7million in investment.

The launch will coinside with the permanent closure of the town's historic Dolphin Centre nextdoor.

Critics have disparaged the development since the get-go, due mainly to the new centre's lack of a sports hall, and plans were drawn up to share North Bromsgrove High School's a few metres away.

These negotiations have taken an unexpected turn, as changes to school exams mean the hall would only be available to the public on nine months of the year.

Cllr Geoff Denaro, leader of Bromsgrove District Council, said: “We’ve said throughout that we wanted a sports hall but were unable to justify building a brand new one effectively just for daytime use, when there were already a full size sports hall next door at the school that was available on evenings and weekends.

“Unfortunately that availability has now changed to be for just nine months of the year.

"We’re not sure that would be good enough, and that residents may expect a better level of sports hall provision.

"We’re now looking at our options and we’ve requested a report on the matter for the council to consider.”

There options apparently include refurbishing existing buildings or building a new facility.

Leader of Bromsgrove Labour Group Luke Mallet, who has protested the new sports hall since it was proposed, has described the predicament as an 'almighty mess'.

He said: "Opposition councillors are calling for an emergency meeting to discuss this catastrophic failure.

"This is despite plans to bulldoze the old sports hall within the next couple of weeks.

"The council needs to urgently reinstate the old sports hall so sports clubs do not miss out."